He's baaaaaaaaaaack! Glad of it. Love ya, SD-7.
This good news of the kingdom
by sd-7 21 Replies latest jw friends
-
-
LUKEWARM
Brilliant and thanks for posting this SD-7!
For any lurkers out there, you might want to check out this as well
http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/18573/1/A-Day-for-a-Year-I-Need-a-Beer
-
goldensky
HELLO, SD-7!!!!!!!!!
-
sd-7
Thanks for finding the quote. I looked it up last night. Weird that I feel nervous reading the stuff. Page 277, paragraph 2 is the other quote I mentioned, from Benefit From Theocratic Ministry School Education":
"When you teach others, help them to appreciate that Jesus Christ, and no human, is the Head of the congregation. From your initial contact with interested ones, invite them to meetings of the local congregation, where we study the Bible with the help of material provided through "the faithful and discreet slave." Explain to them not only who the "slave" is but also who the Master is so that they become aware of Jesus' headship...Point out that the congregation does not belong to the elders but that they help us to walk in the footsteps of Christ...Help these interested ones see that there is an organized, worldwide society operating under Christ's headship."
I wanted to add this because it's an important part of the process. I feel like it deserves a new thread in itself. Here's a question: can a newly interested one fully comprehend exactly how much this "slave" expects from them? I just find this paragraph to be particularly subtle. There's something not quite right about it, but I can't precisely put my finger on it.
I think, in my own observation of the Bible study process, that I have never, ever seen anyone explain who "the faithful slave" was to their student. From a legal perspective, I can see how this could be pointed to as evidence that no information is withheld from interested ones before they join. But I think it's fair to say that reality is quite different. How many Witnesses have actually read this book? Or this section? I'll go out on a limb and say that 90-95% of Witnesses have never read this, and if they have, they don't remember it. And of course, no interested one will fully grasp just how powerful the "slave" really is until they think about leaving.
If the Society really cared about full disclosure, stuff like this would not be in the back of the Ministry School book. It would be in the Bible Teach book. I don't think that book mentions the "slave" at all, does it? 1914 is mentioned only in the appendix and maybe once in the main lesson. It's disclosure of a sort, but reality just says there's no way the person will have time to think about what he or she is being told. Just a thought. It'd be nice if this thread stays alive a little longer...could say the same thing about myself... Take care.
SD-7
-
Heaven
Okay...so maybe I'm not done here on JWN after all.
I am very glad of this! I enjoy your posts and hope you always have time to contribute here. Please keep harmony with yourself .... breathe ... and take necessary breaks for that which troubles you even if that includes JWN. Thank you for hanging in here.
Of course, the answer is obvious: many JWs don't pay attention to what they read.
So true...and so sad. I try to inject the voice of reason into my Father's thoughts. I can see him working things out. I think he has his issues with the JWs and even issues with some things in the Bible, but as many have stated previously here, he is somewhat trapped. The indoctrination is further ingrained each meeting he goes to and each time he reads their publications and I'm not always there to 'plant a seed' to counter the drivel. I wonder how many JWs have actually read the entire Bible from cover to cover? You'd think if they had done this it would sound off alarm bells.
-
donuthole
I was surprised to find this information buried in the back of a book I can only remember reading to look at specific council points I was working on in the school. It provided a concise view of what the Witnesses believe is the "good news of the kingdom" which I hope to incorporate in something I'm writing.
-
BluesBrother
If I were a dub, I might have said : -
"Ah yes, well...when we say that our 'good news' now being preached goes beyond what they preached in the first century, we did not mean that we were going beyond what The Scriptures say. Oh no..that would be wrong.
You have to remember the context of Mathew 24 /25. It evidently contains references to things that were not fulfilled in Jesus' day, so we can safely expect a greater fulfilment of the prophecy. The parable of the wheat and tares (among others) indicate that his return was to be way off in the future .
Malachi 3, when read in conjunction with the Book of Revelation tells us to expect a Messenger class. That class is clearly the Anointed (that's obvious isn't it) So we co operate with that faithful class in whatever message they give us to declare"
Simple.....?
Can yo find holes in the reasoning??
-
donuthole
At Matthew 24:14 Jesus referred to the message as “this good news of the Kingdom”, speaking to audience which included twelve men that he had trained and previously sent out to share the same. He wasn’t referring to some future message to be revealed in the 1920’s but rather a message that was already being shared during his ministry. Jesus was prophesying that message that he and his apostles had begun sharing to the nation of Israel would go out to the gentile nations as well.
-
sd-7
Very good point, donuthole. "This" good news clearly can't be talking about a good news that doesn't even exist yet. Or else it would be THAT good news. It had to be good news that was already being shared with people.
I wonder how many JWs have actually read the entire Bible from cover to cover? You'd think if they had done this it would sound off alarm bells.
Heaven--it sure did for me. I read the entire Bible 4 times. It should be obvious to anyone who reads the New Testament that the first century Christians simply did not teach what JWs teach. I could tell that much even before I had doubts. I could tell there was just a lot we don't know about what the early Christians taught anyway. But the good news sure wasn't as complicated as the JWs' version of it is. Why else could people get baptized so quickly?
Bluesbrother--yeah. Exactly. The logic is just like that. I wouldn't be surprised if someday some sisters broke off and formed their own religion, calling themselves "the discreet virgins" of Matthew 25, appointed to give "oil at the proper time". It makes as much sense.
SD-7
-
doublelife
sd-7, I'm glad you didn't leave the forum. This topic brought up something that I had never thought of before. It never occurred to me that "this good news of the kingdom" is something different than what jws teach. I need to take some time to read the NT.